Date: Mon 29th June, 2009
Venue:
Number of Guests Attended: 300
Insider’s inaugural Business Finance conference attracted nearly 300 delegates to Manchester’s Lowry Hotel in June, all looking for ways to access finance in the current climate.
Insider editor Michael Taylor said the aim of the event, first conceived late last year at the North West Dealmakers Awards, was to find out where the money was, who has it and how to get hold of it.
In the first session of the morning, the Northwest Regional Development Agency announced a £15m transitional Venture Capital and Loan Fund, as well as £5m brought in from its transitional loan scheme, for businesses across the region.
Chief executive Steven Broomhead said the announcement had taken longer than anticipated but the agency had found a way forward with government while it continued to negotiate on the larger pot of money expected for the region in the next year.
In a keynote address from Tim Hames, head of communications at the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, bank lenders came under fire for conservative lending and a short-term approach.
Hames said: “Private equity is a welcome counter-cyclical operation if it is allowed to fulfil that function. Some banks have been friends in need but some members have reported persistently unhelpful behaviour from lending institutions. Attractive opportunities are being missed by credit committees being overly conservative and this short-term approach from banks will not serve the economy in the long term. The recession will be less severe if normal lending is resumed.”
But Dave Allanson, regional director of large corporate for Lloyds Banking Group, promised £11bn of funds for business lending over the next 12 months following the success of the government’s asset protection scheme to remove “problematic assets”.
But he warned the lending landscape was still challenging, with fewer companies able to demonstrate growth, and advised businesses to stay very close to their lender in order to tell the right story to credit committees.
Other speakers with access to finance included: Andrew Craig from Maven Capital Partners, which is managing a £30m slice of the government’s Capital for Enterprise Fund; Andy Ball from NorthEdge Capital, a fledgling corporate recovery fund with a cornerstone investment of £10m; Neil Duckworth from turnaround fund Eternitas, which is nearing financial close on its £20m turnaround pot; and Steve Sealey and Duncan Peyton from Aquarius Equity Partners, which recently announced its £7.5m Origin Fund – a dedicated investment vehicle for early-stage technology companies in the north.
The day was also punctuated by two presentations from Graham Hallworth, chairman of Crown Paints and Steve Taylor from regional betting outfit Taylormade.
The pair dispatched some good advice for businesses to deal with current challenges, but the day will surely be remembered for Hallworth’s line about having a good lubricant. “If you are having a bank meeting, my advice for corporate would be to take KY Jelly because you will be rogered and it’ll be easier for everyone,” he quipped.
